A team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology is using the Aquarius underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida to study how the diversity of seaweed-eating fish affects endangered coral reefs. The research mission, which began Sept. 13, may provide new information to help scientists protect and even restore damaged coral reefs in the Caribbean. Led by Mark Hay, a Georgia Tech professor of biology, the 10-day mission includes two Ph.D. students and a postdoctoral researcher who are living 50 feet below the surface in the unique underwater lab. Aquarius, ...

Tampa, FL (Sept. 15, 2011) -- Decreasing expression of a protein associated with susceptibility to depression made old mice resistant to depressive-like behavior while improving their hormonal response to stress, a study led by researchers at the University of South Florida found. The lack of this protein, FKBP51, did not adversely affect their memory, learning, or basic motor functions. The study suggests that drug discovery efforts aimed at reducing levels of the protein FKBP51 may yield new antidepressant therapies. The findings appear online today (Sept. 15, 2011) ...

Pardee Homes is an award-winning builder bringing award-winning homes to Southern California homebuyers, most recently with its new LivingSmart Homes at Fair Oaks Ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley. Finalist in the 2011 SoCal Awards as Green Community/Suburban, the homes feature a standout level of green measures, including solar power systems as a standard. Prices begin in the $400,000s at LivingSmart Homes, for plan sizes that range from approximately 1,846 to 2,432 square feet of living space. The design series includes 4 floor plans, each with a two-bay garage. "Of ...

A study led by University of Southern California (USC) epidemiologists suggests that a high intake of calcium causes prostate cancer among African-American men who are genetically good absorbers of the mineral. "High dietary intake of calcium has long been linked to prostate cancer and this study suggests that these associations are likely to be causal," said Sue Ann Ingles, Dr.P.H., associate professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and principal investigator of the study. "At this point, however, we're not in a position to make any public ...

PORTLAND, Ore. — New research in mice indicates that babies born to moms who eat a high-fat diet before and during pregnancy have a higher fat mass and smaller livers than babies whose moms consume low-fat fare, according to scientists at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital. The good news, the researchers report, is that moms who switch to a low-fat diet during pregnancy considerably reduce the risk of these negative effects. Their findings are published online in the American Journal of Physiology and Endocrinology Metabolism, a publication ...

Researchers at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and at the Harvard Medical School report that children with autism and gastrointestinal disturbances have altered expression of genes involved in digestion. These variations may contribute to changes in the types of bacteria in their intestines. Full study findings are reported online in the journal PLoS ONE. Autism, which is defined by impairments in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors, affects ...

An expert panel speaking on Capitol Hill today demonstrated that the Great Recession has had a disproportionately negative impact on low-income older workers, although programs such as the federal Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) have managed to provide some valuable benefits to this disadvantaged demographic group. The congressional briefing — held on the eve of National Employ Older Workers Week — was titled, "Older Workers: Multiple Returns on Our Public Investment." It was sponsored by The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and the American ...

A team of scientists at the CSIC has shown that temperature can play a critical role in the control of splicing. The team led by Josep Vilardell, ICREA scientist at the CSIC's Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, has demonstrated that temperature, through its effects on RNA structure, can control how the genetic information will be processed. The results of this work are published this week in Molecular Cell. Hiding intronic cues For some time, scientists have been trying to understand how the spliceosome -the molecular 'machine' responsible for splicing- works ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Some of the newest therapies in the war on cancer remove the brakes cancer puts on the immune system, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers report. These immunotherapies, such as CTLA4, strengthen the immune system's attack on cancer by keeping apart two proteins that prevent key immune cells called T cells from activating. Research featured on the cover of the Journal of Immunology suggests that these therapies also keep tumors from benefitting from IDO, an enzyme used by fetuses and tumors alike to suppress the immune response. "This is ...

Renewed vigilance over the biosecurity of the Galápagos Islands is needed, based on new research on the risk posed by West Nile virus. Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the University of Leeds and the New York State Department of Health, together with the Galápagos National Park Service and University of Guayaquil, have been studying the disease threat posed by Islands' mosquito populations. They have discovered that a species of these biting insects is capable of transmitting West Nile virus, a potentially dangerous disease for the archipelago's ...

This press release is available in German. Just as a camera flash illuminates unseen objects hidden in darkness, a sequence of laser pulses can be used to study the elusive quantum behavior of a large "macroscopic" object. This method provides a novel tool of unprecedented performance for current experiments that push the boundaries of the quantum world to larger and larger scales. A collaboration of scientists led by researchers from the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) at the University of Vienna report this new scheme in the forthcoming ...

Las Vegas, NV—CONRAD, a leading reproductive health research organization, will announce results of the SILCS Diaphragm contraceptive effectiveness study September 17th at the Reproductive Health 2011 Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two-year study of 450 U.S. women implemented at six clinical sites in the U.S. showed that effectiveness rates of the new single size, contoured diaphragm are similar to traditional diaphragms. In addition, SILCS was shown to be easy to use and comfortable to wear. The single-size design eliminates the need for a fitting, which should ...

MANHASSET, NY -- Scientists have identified a surprising new role for a new type of T cell in the immune system: some of them can be activated by nerves to make a neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) that blocks inflammation. The discovery of these T cells is novel and suggests that it may be possible to treat inflammation and autoimmune diseases by targeting the nerves and the T cells. The study was published this week in Science. "The discovery that 2 percent of T cells can make acetylcholine under the control of nerves gives a new insight into how the nervous system regulates ...

Bold Earth Teen Adventures is seeing an increase in international interest for student travel as teens from outside the USA grew to represent 25% of their summer 2011 trips. International students are enrolling at a high rate, and this summer marks the first time that Bold Earth welcomed students from new countries including China, Japan, Korea, Iceland and Nigeria. "Summer 2011 opened up Bold Earth to a new level of diversity that we're so proud of," said Abbott Wallis, President of Bold Earth. "Teens from all over the world are craving these rich experiences. ...

Yang Wang is known for conducting complex research using highly sophisticated equipment. Yet the Florida State University geochemist also has spent days hiking through the remote outback of Tibet and camping in the foothills of the Himalayas — all in the name of scientific discovery. Because of that unique mix of skills, Wang was chosen to take part in a team of researchers that uncovered the oldest prehistoric woolly rhino ever found. A paper describing the team's discovery was just published in Science (http://www.sciencemag.org/), a prestigious journal established ...

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 16 – Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have discovered molecular-level changes in the brains of women with major depressive disorder that link two hypotheses of the biological mechanisms that lead to the illness. Their results, published online this week in Molecular Psychiatry, also allowed them to recreate the changes in a mouse model that could enhance future research on depression. Although women are twice as likely as men to develop depression and have more severe and frequent symptoms, very little research has focused ...

The sound design of the feature film, "Lovely Molly" (Amber Entertainment, Haxan Films), which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival on Wednesday, September 14th, is receiving high praise from industry bloggers. PopMark Media's Sound Division, Studio Unknown, was responsible for the full sound design package of the film. Directed by Eduardo Sanchez, known for his 1999 horror, "The Blair Witch Project," "Lovely Molly" centers on a troubled young woman and the evil power that exists inside her. The film relies heavily on sound for story support. ...

The earth's most successful bacteria are found in the oceans and belong to the group SAR11. In a new study, researchers from Uppsala University provide an explanation for their success and at the same time call into question generally accepted theories about these bacteria. In their analysis they have also identified a rare and hitherto unknown relative of mitochondria, the power stations inside cells.The findings were published in two articles in the journals Molecular Biology and Evolution and PLoS One in the last week. "The huge amounts of DNA information now being ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Sept. 16, 2011 – A study by epidemiologists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and colleagues suggests that a high intake of calcium causes prostate cancer among African-American men who are genetically good absorbers of the mineral. "High dietary intake of calcium has long been linked to prostate cancer but the explanation for this observation has been elusive," said Gary G. Schwartz, Ph.D., associate professor of cancer biology, urology, and public health sciences at Wake Forest Baptist and co-author on the study. Schwartz and colleagues ...

In a new project, researchers from LIFE – the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen – document that the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) plays a previously unknown dual role in the prevention of a number of cancers. The new findings show that the virus both kills cancer cells and stops the expression of the molecules which certain types of cancer cells produce to hide from the immune system. Certain types of cancer cells express far too many liquid immunostimulatory molecules, blocking the immune system's ability to recognise them, and enabling them ...

Recently published studies by a researcher in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry demonstrate that ALS – known as Lou Gehrig's disease – damages neurons in parts of the brain responsible for cognition and behaviour. ALS, which stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that eventually leaves patients unable to move, breathe or swallow. Previous research has shown about 50 per cent of patients with ALS also have mild cognitive and behavioural changes, but between five and 15 per cent of patients can have severe changes resulting in dementia. ...

GALVESTON, September 16, 2011 – Researchers have shown for the first time that the protein fortilin promotes growth of cancer cells by binding to and rendering inert protein p53, a known tumor suppressor. This finding by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch may lead to treatments for a range of cancers and atherosclerosis, which p53 also helps prevent, and appears in the current print issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. "The p53 protein is a critical defense against cancer because it activates genes that induce apoptosis, or the death of cells. ...

LA JOLLA, CA -- A "hidden" code linked to the DNA of plants allows them to develop and pass down new biological traits far more rapidly than previously thought, according to the findings of a groundbreaking study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The study, published today in the journal Science, provides the first evidence that an organism's "epigenetic" code - an extra layer of biochemical instructions in DNA - can evolve more quickly than the genetic code and can strongly influence biological traits. While the study was limited to a single ...

MADISON, WI, SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 -- Durum wheat is a valuable cereal crop widely used for human consumption in the United States, Canada, and several European countries. Scab or Fusarium head blight is one of the crop's most serious diseases, reducing its grain yield and quality. Current durum cultivars don't have resistance to this widespread disease. While working on the Durum Germplasm Enhancement Project (DGE), Dr. Prem Jauhar and staff at the USDA-ARS Northern Crop Research Laboratory, Fargo, ND discovered that a diploid wheatgrass contains the genes needed for scab ...

DURHAM, N.H. – Beginning Sunday, September 18, 2011 at NASA's launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, space scientists from the University of New Hampshire will attempt to send a balloon up to 130,000 feet with a one-ton instrument payload to measure gamma rays from the Crab Pulsar, the remains of a supernova explosion that lies 6,500 light years from Earth. The launch is highly dependent on weather and wind conditions, and the launch window closes at the end of next week. The Gamma Ray Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE), which was designed and built at the Space Science ...